"Days of Yesterday"
Hiromi Kanda
(Music Gate)
Japanese vocalist Hiromi Kanda and conductor-arranger Matt Catingub return with a second album of romantic American pop standards recorded with a full orchestra. Catingub used the Honolulu Symphony on their first project, "Hiromi in Love," but the symphony was pau when he and Kanda made these recordings last year, so he tapped the L.A. talent pool and assembled an orchestra of 59 musicians for her there.
Jazz great Joe Sample sits in on three numbers. Catingub was always a "value added" guy in his years as a "Pops" conductor here, and he maintains that tradition by playing alto sax on three others: "I Love Paris," "Stella by Starlight" and "Our Love Is Here to Stay."
Catingub’s sax launches "I Love Paris" on a trajectory that Kanda develops into an exuberant valentine. Further on, she caresses the poignant emotion of "I’m Through with Love" and switches moods effectively with a seductive take on "Our Love Is Here to Stay," one of the few songs about love gone right in the collection.
Kanda and her producer husband, Yusuke Hoguchi, include three originals that fit nicely. "Twilight Tears" expresses the feelings of a woman who learns the man she loves is marrying someone else. "Goodnight Yesterday" is a somber mirror- image cousin to "Good Morning Heartache." Rather than welcoming another day of sorrow, Kanda bids it a tear-stained goodbye.
Her distinct Japanese accent didn’t detract from her first album, and she has obviously been working on improving her language skills. The fast-tempo numbers trip her up a bit at times, but she does a remarkable job overall handling syllables and letter combinations that don’t exist in Japanese.
If Catingub’s Romance Festival had taken off here as the successor to the late Abe Weinstein’s jazz festival, she could certainly have been a headliner.
www.hiromikanda.com
"I Love Paris In The Springtime"
"Haleiwa Blues"
Ron Artis Family Band
(self-produced)
The late Ron Artis and five of his 11 children are the players on this self-produced album of 15 original blues songs. Hawaii’s resident blues artists generally are better at playing the music well than singing it convincingly, but Artis and his son Ron Artis II are convincing throughout. Ron II is also a fine guitarist, and his father and siblings have the other instruments covered. The overall impression is of a jam session in progress, but that’s not a problem. (Since the CD comes with no performers’ credits, we’ll note that the members are Artis, piano, electric keyboards and vocals; Ron II, guitar and vocals; Victor Artis, bass; Stevon Artis, drums; PraiseJesus Artis, organ and electric keyboards; and Thunderstorm Artis, harmonica and percussion. A sixth sibling, Spirit Artis, is the group’s recording engineer.)
The group establishes its credentials with the opening number, "Confusion." Ron II and Thunderstorm are the featured players, and the rhythm section provides a solid foundation. The keyboard players step forward with good results on other selections — "Grabbin’ the Blues" is a good example.
The title track is a powerful showcase for the entire group. A blues song about surfing? Why not! Breaking a new board the first time you use it? That’ll give any surfer the blues.
Other songs stand out in showing the breadth of the group’s blues repertoire. "Texas Whip" is rocking up-tempo tap-your-feet-and-nod-your-head number. "Taste of Home" is a slow and mellow shout-out to soul food: pinto beans, cornbread, fried chicken, neck bones, okra. You know you want some.
On the downside it must be mentioned that on several songs Spirit apparently hit the "off" switch before the final notes subsided. Ouch.
www.ronartis.com
"Haleiwa Blues"
